All Stood Up
by HarvestBeauty
Summary: What if Larry had expressed a much different emotion in reaction to being left at the altar in the episode Larry's Bride? Jack/Larry friendship.


_A/N: Welcome to the first Three's Company story I ever wrote! Started it in February of 2019 and just got completely stuck after writing 3/4 of it, so went on to write a bunch of other stories instead. Finally got it done and just said to myself, why not post it to get it out of the way? I hope everyone had a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving!_

"Poor Larry! He's been jilted! Why would Gloria do something like that to him?" Helen Roper was near tears...she just hated happy occasions being ruined.

"Beats me. I thought she took the news pretty well." Chrissy shrugged.

"What news?" Janet questioned her, curious.

"Well, I told Gloria that Larry didn't actually own the used car lot, that he just works there." Chrissy replied.

"Now, why didn't I think of that?" Jack shook his head. In a way he was glad Gloria walked out on Larry...he was glad she was finally exposed for the kind of woman she really was. He hated the fact that she was just using Larry and didn't really love him, but he just didn't know how to break the news to Larry, who seemed head over heels in love with her. Now, thanks to Gloria's flightiness, he didn't have to. But now he still had to tell Larry the ugly truth...that his bride just walked out on him.

"Oh no, Larry's still waiting outside! I have to be the one to break it to him...it will devastate him!" Jack ran a hand through his hair uneasily.

"Bummer..." Stanley Roper frowned.

Jack sighed deeply and turned the doorknob, tugging the door open to reveal Larry standing there. He flashed Jack a nervous grin.

"Larry, I don't know how to tell you this..." Jack began.

"I know, Jack. I'll miss palling around with you too." Larry stepped into the apartment. "Now, where is my beautiful bride...?"

The words died in his throat as he caught sight of everyone's somber expressions. He almost burst out laughing.

"Guys, what is this...a wedding or a funeral?" Larry joked.

"Neither..." Chrissy shifted her weight from foot to foot awkwardly.

"Huh?" Larry was puzzled, but still grinning ear to ear. "Where's Gloria?"

"She's...um..." Janet trailed off helplessly. She wished she could tell him that she was just hiding in the bathroom with wedding day nerves.

"She's not here..." Jack said softly. Everyone seemed to hold their collective breath as the smile slowly faded from Larry's face.

"Are you kidding me?" Larry was incredulous.

"It seems she, uh, walked out on you, Lar." Jack rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. "I'm sorry..."

Everybody stood in silence, not quite knowing what to say. Larry appeared speechless, just staring back at Jack as if he couldn't believe what he had just heard. Jack's stomach did flip flops. For once, Jack wished Chrissy would butt in with one of her dumb jokes or snort laughs in order to break the tension. Finally, Larry turned around and walked out of the apartment without a word. Jack slowly let out a shaky breath he didn't even realize he was holding in.

"Gee, do you think he's upset?" Chrissy innocently asked.

"Maybe a _little _bit..." Janet answered her sarcastically. "Jack, you should go talk to him."

"Yeah..." Jack swallowed anxiously. "I will..."

"Now, hold on...what does a guy like Jack know about troubles with _women_?" Stanley demanded. "Seems a bit ridiculous to me."

"Oh, Stanley!" Helen rolled her eyes, sighing heavily.

"I'm sure I'll manage, Mr Roper." Jack answered him through gritted teeth. "I'll be right back."

Jack dashed out the door and up the stairs, heading towards Larry's apartment. His mind was racing on the way up. He pondered what to say to Larry over this incident. It was actually good news that Gloria had left Larry, even if Larry didn't know it yet. Even so, he couldn't blame his friend for feeling more than a little hurt right now. He couldn't imagine his wisecracking buddy being _too _depressed about things, however. This was Larry Dallas: the man who had a new girl in his life every week, a guy who had fallen in "love" more times than Jack could count. Yes, he planned on marrying Gloria, but he had only known her a short while. She was just a girl, and Larry normally had plenty to choose from. How upset could he be? He fell in love hard, fast and repeatedly.

Lost in thought, Jack came rushing up to Larry's door faster than he had been prepared for. He stumbled to a jarring stop just inches before collision. He supposed if he was a cartoon character, he would've smashed right through the door and had left a Jack shaped hole in it. The young chef raised his hand and rapped his knuckles on the door softly.

"Larry? It's me, Jack. Are you okay?"

No response.

"Hey, pal? You in there?" Jack tried again, knocking a little bit louder this time. Once again, he was met with silence. Jack frowned in thought. He had ran upstairs to his apartment on instinct, but there was a good chance that Larry had decided to chill out at the Regal Beagle instead. Wondering if this was the case, Jack began to feel awfully silly for talking to a door. Thinking of trying his luck down at the bar, he had started to turn away from the door when a thought suddenly came back to him. He had remembered Larry complaining about a broken lock about two days ago and how he had to push his couch up against the door at night. Turning back to face the apartment door, Jack reached out and gently turned the knob. The door was unlocked.

"It's worth a shot." He quietly muttered to himself. Carefully, Jack pushed open the door and silently crept into the apartment. Just inside the doorway with his hand still on the doorknob, Jack froze, his jaw dropping in shock.

Larry was sitting on his couch, his back to him. He appeared to be leaning forward with his head in his hands. The apartment was eerily quiet except for the sound of Larry taking in sharp, quavering breaths of air. He sounded on the verge of losing it. Jack stood rooted to the floor, unsure of what to do. In the years that he had known Larry, Jack couldn't recall ever seeing the normally easy going used car salesman upset, let alone this agitated, especially over a girl. Then again, he'd never pictured Larry as the type willing to settle down either. Jack bit his lip as he thought about what to say and how to approach the situation. He was used to comforting Janet or Chrissy whenever they'd get upset about something. Obviously, this was going to be a little different.

"Um..." Jack finally spoke up, his voice sounding oddly loud in the quiet apartment. "Your lock is still broken and I kind of...let myself in..."

It looked as though an electrical current went up Larry's back as he jumped in shock at the sudden sound of Jack's voice. A startled cry burst from him, but he didn't dare turn around to face Jack. Jack cringed, mentally kicking himself over his usual lack of finesse...he certainly hadn't meant to scare Larry.

"That _damned _lock! Roper was supposed to fix it..." Larry's voice was low and shaky. Fighting to hold onto control over his emotions, the shock of Jack sneaking up on him was enough to finally push him over the edge. He slumped forward, dropping his head into both of his hands. His fingers wound tightly into his wavy, black hair as his shoulders shook violently with almost inaudible sobs. Concerned, Jack closed the apartment door and tentatively made his way over to sit on the couch next to Larry. He carefully reached out and started rubbing Larry's back in what he hoped was a comforting manner. Larry didn't look up.

"Hey, buddy...I've never seen you so down! Just try to relax, okay?" Jack soothed.

"Don't you see?" Larry choked out, his breath hitching unevenly. "I was willing to walk down the aisle with her, to make her my wife!"

Jack paused here, thinking about what to say next.

"Larry, I know you don't believe me now..." Jack said. "But Gloria was all wrong for you. Believe me, you dodged a bullet."

"Could you leave, please?" Larry was having none of it.

"No, really..." Jack pressed on. "Remember last night when I got drunk? Well, I was trying to warn you about her..."

Larry finally looked up, slowly gaining his composure back. He sniffed back his remaining tears, wiping at his eyes with his hand. He took in a calming breath.

"You mean when you were going on and on about fatty four eyes and something about bowling? I still don't understand..."

"I know you don't, and it's my fault." Jack interrupted him. "And when you feel up to it, I'll explain everything. Believe me, Lar, what happened today...it's really not as bad as you think. Trust me."

Larry was heartbroken and humiliated. He took a risk and got shot down miserably for it. Even so, there was sincere softness in Jack's blue eyes...a sense that he was telling the truth and that maybe the disaster of today really had been for the best. Larry didn't know why, but he felt himself becoming calmer and feeling a little bit better about things.

"Okay..." Larry shrugged. "Whatever you say."

The friends sat in silence for a few moments, and then Jack nudged Larry playfully in the shoulder.

"I'll bet you can date hundreds of other girls by the end of the month, old what's-her-name will be a distant memory."

"I guess everyone has their talents." A slight smirk appeared on Larry's face, much to Jack's relief. It was gone as quickly as it came and was replaced by a look of pensive sadness. He stared straight ahead, as though he was almost afraid to look directly at Jack, and made a quiet confession. "Honestly? I am so tired of it."

"Tired of what?" Jack asked.

"The game. A different girl every night. I am so sick of it all."

"For real?" Jack gasped.

"Yup." Larry sighed. "I mean, I know it can be a lot of fun sometimes. But what happens after you wine, dine and then bed her? It's on to the next chick. Normally, I'm okay with that. But lately, it just feels like something is missing. I don't know how to explain it..."

"I know what you mean, it can get a little tiresome." Jack agreed. "You end up saying the same things over and over again to these girls, like: "_Your place or mine?_". "

"Yeah, or: _"What's your name again?_"." Larry huffed out a humorless laugh. "There's no specialness. Half of the time, I can't even tell them apart or keep their names straight, which has gotten me into some pretty awkward moments, if you know what I mean."

"I can only imagine." Jack shook his head, smiling in amusement.

"You know, you've got a really nice set up with the girls." Larry said quietly.

"With Chrissy and Janet?" Jack almost did a double take.

"Yeah," Larry smiled softly. "Someone to always come home to and to be with, that sense of companionship. It's everything a guy could want out of a lifelong commitment. Well, _almost _everything..."

"Don't remind me..." Jack deadpanned.

"You know what I mean!" Larry laughed. "Other than that one thing you're missing out on, it seems pretty fulfilling."

"Yeah," Jack got kind of a goofy, dreamy look on his face. "It is. I'm a pretty lucky guy."

The friends once again lapsed into silence, and Jack surveyed his pal thoughtfully.

"I never knew you were such a softie." Jack remarked in a slightly teasing tone.

"What do you mean?" Larry questioned.

"You talk about falling in love a whole lot...sure, it's with a new girl every week, but it's still the L word. You seem to look for any excuse to throw away your little black book if you feel like the girl you are dating is the one, and for a guy who says he's not looking for marriage...well, here you are! How about that? I think I've found out your deep, dark secret: you're more traditional than you let on."

Even though Jack started off his little observation in a lighthearted and joking manner, he couldn't help but realize that the things he was saying actually rang true for the most part. A sense of fascination dawned on him as he made new discoveries about his friend. Larry, however, did not seem as interested. In fact, he looked slightly offended for the sake of his reputation.

"I wouldn't go _that _far, but I was starting to kind of like the idea. Ah, what's the difference? I'm never going to try this again." Larry shook his head.

"Hey, you had the right idea...you just picked the wrong girl. The right one will come along eventually." Jack protested. "It's a good lesson, though. If you feel like you can't tell a girl the truth about yourself-"

"Then she's not the one for you." Larry chimed in, rolling his eyes at the impromptu lecture. "I know, I know. Telling her that I owned the used car lot was a stupid idea. I get what you're saying."

"No, Larry. I don't think you do." Willing himself to keep a straight face, Jack took a hold of one of Larry's hands in both of his. He batted his eyelashes for added effect. "Will you marry me?"

Larry froze for a split second before bursting into laughter. He squeezed Jack's hand as he hunched over, guffawing so hard that it shook his thin frame.

"Oh my God! Jacko, you crazy son of a..."

"Hey, it cheered you up, didn't it?" Jack smirked, very pleased with himself. Larry had straightened up, collapsing back against the cushions of the sofa, still laughing so hard that he couldn't breathe.

"Oh, Lord..." He wheezed, tears of mirth coming to his eyes. "That was a good one. Thanks, I needed that. It does explain a lot about you, I must say."

"Hey_...that's it_!" Jack's eyes widened as he was struck with an idea. "Let's do it!"

The smile instantly disappeared from Larry's face and was replaced with a look of horror. He realized that he was still, inexplicably, holding hands with Jack. He quickly dropped Jack's hand.

"Come again?" Larry said carefully.

"No, no...relax, Larry. I was just thinking, we could go back downstairs to the Roper's apartment and still have a 'wedding'..." Jack used airquotes here, and then gestured between Larry and himself. "It would really freak Mr Roper out. Be one heck of a prank, one for the books. What do you think?"

"Oh..." Larry's dark eyes lit up, sparkling with amusement as he considered it. Slowly, a mischievous grin spread over his face...Jack was so glad to see that familiar expression. Unfortunately, it disappeared rather quickly.

"Nah, it's okay. You can go, but I think I'm just going to hang out here. Thanks anyway."

_Larry, turning down a joke or a chance to prank someone? He must be REALLY upset..._

Jack frowned in concern as he regarded his downcast friend. The slight tremor in his voice did not sit well with him. He had hope that he was able to help Larry up from this pit of depression that he had found himself in by cracking a few jokes and making him laugh, but he realized it was only temporary. A permanent fix would take more people than just Jack alone...it would be a multi person job. He racked his brain as he tried to think of excuses he could come up with in order not to leave Larry alone, even though it was what Larry seemed to desire at the moment.

"You know what? You're coming with me downstairs. There's cake and champagne...you don't want all of it to go to waste, do you?" Jack sprang up from the couch and grabbed Larry's arm, pulling him up to his feet. Larry didn't resist, but he clearly wasn't interested either.

"No, Jack..." Larry sighed tiredly. "I can't go back there. Too embarrassing."

"Come on, our friends and neighbors are there. We could really make it a party, a celebration." Jack made his way over to the door with a reluctant Larry in tow.

"A party to celebrate _what_?" Larry asked him dryly, bitterly. "In case you haven't noticed, there isn't going to be a wedding today."

"Friendship." Jack shrugged, stating the obvious. "We'll have a party to celebrate friendship."

Larry paused, a slow, easy smile coming to his face.

"Jack, that is so corny." He quipped.

"I know." Jack replied with a smile of his own.

"Thanks." Larry said, genuinely touched.

Jack nodded. Together, the two friends headed out of Larry's apartment.

THE END


End file.
